At The Opera Company of Middlebury, we believe that the passion and dedication of our staff and board is what sets us apart. Our team is comprised of experienced professionals who share a deep love and appreciation for the art of opera.
From our talented singers and musicians to our expert production and administrative staff, we are united in our commitment to delivering exceptional performances that captivate and inspire audiences.
Our staff and board members bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to their respective roles, whether it's crafting breathtaking sets and costumes, managing ticket sales and marketing, brainstorming at a board meeting, or fine-tuning the skills of our talented performers.
We are proud to have assembled a team of individuals who are as passionate about opera as they are about providing outstanding service to our patrons. It is their hard work and dedication that enables us to bring the magic of opera to life on stage and create memorable experiences for our audiences.
We invite you to get to know our incredible staff and join us in celebrating their remarkable contributions to the world of opera.
Leadership Team
Artistic Director and Founder - Douglas Anderson
Douglas Anderson is currently the Artistic Director of Town Hall Theater, Inc. (having been Executive Director until July 2018). Directing projects include all of OCM’s productions starting with Carmen in 2004 through Completing the Picture, Candide and The Maid of Orleans in 2020-21 and Orphée aux enfers in 2022; Forever Plaid, Smokey Joe’s Café, Falsettos and Hands on a Hardbody for Town Hall Theater; Falsettos, Company, Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, The Wild Party, Urinetown, Hairspray, Into the Woods, Les Miserables, Ragtime, Chicago, City of Angels, Cabaret, Sunday in the Park with George, The Light in the Piazza and Company for Middlebury College; Shirley Valentine for Middlebury Acting Company and Vermont Stage Company; musicals for the Middlebury Community Players, including The Music Man and Funny Girl; workshops of new musicals at Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Cleveland Playhouse. In a prior life, he was head writer on the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light. He directed and co-wrote RiddleLikeLove (with a side of ketchup), which appeared off-Broadway at the Ensemble Studio Theater. Doug lives in East Middlebury with his wife Debby.
Executive Producer and Founder - Mary Longey
Mary Longey has produced and stage-managed all operas and events for the Opera Company of Middlebury since its first season in 2004. She has particularly enjoyed OCM’s Eugene Onegin (2013) and The Maid Of Orleans (having majored in Russian at Middlebury College). Since 1999, Mary has also produced, stage-managed, or otherwise assisted with over 50 Middlebury Community Players’ shows, as well as numerous productions and events at Town Hall Theater, where she serves as the Resident Production/Stage Manager.
Music Director - Filippo Ciabatti
Praised for his “sensitive and nuanced” musicianship, Filippo Ciabatti is a dynamic and versatile conductor who enjoys a multifaceted career. Recent guest engagements include the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra (TX), Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Opera North, Park ICM Orchestra (MO), Martha Graham Dance Company, Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Central (Colombia), Aurora Festival Orchestra (Sweden), Orchestra Toscana dei Conservatori (Italy), Members of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Italy), and University of Illinois’ Lyric Theatre, where he conducted a production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni directed by and starring Nathan Gunn.
This season, he also makes his guest conducting debuts with the Portland Symphony Orchestra (ME), the San Angelo Symphony Orchestra (TX), and the Festival Orchestra Napa (CA), where he will conduct concerts featuring internationally renowned soloists Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Ray Chen, and the Grammy-winning ensemble Time for Three.
In October 2023, he was named Assistant Conductor of Boston Baroque, the first in the prestigious ensemble’s history. He is the founding Artistic Director of Upper Valley Baroque, a professional orchestral and choral ensemble, which after only two seasons has already received critical acclaim and regularly performs to sold-out houses.
Mr. Ciabatti is also active on the opera stage. He was recently named Music Director of the Opera Company of Middlebury, where he made his debut with a production of Fidelio in June 2023. Ciabatti serves on the faculty of Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy and Opera Viva (Italy).
Mr. Ciabatti is the Director of Orchestral and Choral Activities at the Hopkins Center for the Arts (Dartmouth College), where he has been invested in working on innovative and cross-disciplinary projects that provide exceptional opportunities for both students and audiences. In 2018, he led a historic orchestra tour to Italy, performing Mahler’s 5th Symphony at prominent venues and festivals, in collaboration with the Orchestra Toscana dei Conservatori. Website: filippociabatti.com
Director of Education & Outreach - Sarah Cullins
Ninth-generation Vermonter and soprano Sarah Cullins is thrilled to call the Green Mountains home again, and to be involved in a myriad of vocal programs that give back to her community. After training at the New England Conservatory of Music and Mannes School of Music, she spent a decade in the Andes Mountains of Bogotá, Colombia, where she won the National Voice Competition and was a sought-after soloist in operatic, symphonic, and oratorio repertoire with the country’s major orchestras, companies, and festivals. She also designed and led a new voice and opera program at the Universidad Central, which led to a revitalization of operatic training and production nationwide. Back in Vermont since 2013, she has continued a prolific performance schedule, including multiple roles with OCM and numerous collaborations with her husband Daniel Gaviria as the 8 Cuerdas Duo, celebrating Latin American and Spanish song. Sarah maintains a large private vocal studio and is the founder of the Youth Opera Company of OCM. She was honored to join the OCM Board in 2021 and now serves as Director of Education & Outreach, directing OCM’s Young Artist and Youth Opera programs. Website: sarahcullins.com
Managing Director - Robin Allen LaPlante
Throughout a career spanning nearly 20 years, Robin Allen LaPlante has worked with organizations as diverse as NPR’s From the Top, Boston Center for the Arts, Highland Center for the Arts, Circus Smirkus, and Vermont Youth Orchestra Association. In these roles she has led external relations of all kinds, developed strategic institutional communications and branding plans, and managed the development operations for gifts and grants. Most recently she has been a sought-after nonprofit consultant helping arts and education nonprofits develop and professionalize their fundraising and marketing operations. Robin has worked with clients developing strategic communications plans; advising on marketing tactics to increase reach and engagement; fundraising through appeals, grants, events, and sponsorships; managing and reporting on data; and producing and executing online events. Her clients include Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras, Theater in the Open, Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild, Emily's Entourage, Puppet Showplace Theater, Upper Valley Humane Society, White River Ballet Academy, among others. Robin makes her home in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont with her husband and daughter, where they live next to some cows and sheep.
Development & Marketing Coordinator - Nicole Sannes
Bio coming soon!
Production Team
in alphabetical order
Debby Anderson (Costume and Graphic Designer) first designed costumes for the Middlebury Community Players’ production of Chicago, followed by the country-western version of Twelfth Night. She has been costume designer for all of OCM’s twenty seasons, as well as designing the posters, program covers and other publicity materials. Debby learned early on that if she wanted to see her husband—the director—she had better join the production team.
Mary Jane Austin (Music Director, Youth Opera Company) enjoys a rich musical life in Vermont and abroad, where her interests range from recital work and fullscale opera productions to teaching and choral conducting. In addition to OCM, she works with many groups including the Mad River Chorale, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Italian Opera Intensive, Youth Opera Workshop and Unadilla Theatre. She is on the faculties of Middlebury College, Dartmouth and Northern Vermont University. She led the pit in Town Hall Theater/Middlebury College’s productions of Sunday in the Park with George (2019) and The Light in the Piazza (2020).
Neil Curtis’ (Lighting Designer) work is familiar to OCM audiences, from A Little Night Music (2007) through La Fille du Régiment and Scalia/Ginsburg with “The Interlopers” (2024). Neil received his BFA in Theatrical Design from Ithaca College. When not creating lighting designs for OCM, he is a Director in the Energy and Sustainability practive at Guidehouse Consulting.
Elinor Steele Friml (Scenic Artist) has worn many hats in theater and the arts in Middlebury and beyond. She designed over 30 sets for the Middlebury Community Players since 1983 and has worked as Scenic Artist for most OCM productions. She is an award-winning designer/weaver of contemporary tapestries for home, corporate and healthcare settings nationwide. She recently retired from her job as Town Hall Theater Box Office Manager, but continues to serve as the Jackson Gallery Director.
Dora Greven (Stage Technician) has been involved with theater since her very early years. It has always been one of her favorite ways to express her creativity and has allowed her to develop confidence and friends. Her resume includes over 120 shows with the Opera Company of Middlebury, MIddlebury Community Players and other companies in Addison County, encompassing every role imaginable—onstage and off. She has been on the MCP board for nearly 20 years, and Board president since 2012.
Tim Joy (Videographer) is a Producer, Director, Editor, Composer, Pilot, Audio Engineer, and Inventor who grew up wanting to be a rock star. Playing music and listening to others play was his passion—everything from Jazz, Classical, and Reggae; to Rock, Electronic, and Funk. Although he did lead a band for a few years, it was the audio engineering side of it that excited him most. He ventured to Hollywood and studied Music, Theater, and Audio Engineering, where he then served as studio tech and recording engineer for composer Joel Goldsmith, most known for scoring the TV series, Stargate SG-1. Under his wing, Tim honed his skills as recording engineer, composer, and computer tech. In 2001, he founded Projection Films and began making short films, working as a production sound mixer and boom operator, and flying model helicopters with cameras strapped to them. Since relocating to Vermont in 2007, he has produced and directed over 20 short films, made dozens of videos, commercials, and graphic animations, while continuing to compose music and work as an audio engineer. As an amateur machinist and hobby inventor, Tim enjoys designing and building new filmmaking tools and “flying cameras.” Visit Tim’s website for Projection Films at: Projectionfilms.com
Buzz Kuhns (Technical Director) has been working behind the scenes with several local theater companies for years, but is humbled and a bit daunted by the thought of walking in the footsteps of OCM’s long-time technical director Bill Friml. He is grateful for the opportunity, and for Bill’s friendly support.
Nathaniel Lew (Chorus Master, BOHÈME 2025, FILLE 2024) Choral conductor and musicologist Nathaniel G. Lew is Artistic Director of the Counterpoint Vocal Ensemble, based in Montpelier, and Professor of Music and Director of the Honors Program at St. Michael’s College in Colchester. Before coming to Vermont, during a decade spent in the Bay Area, he directed Ars Subtilior Medieval Vocal Ensemble, Vox Populi Renaissance Vocal Ensemble, the UC Berkeley Chorus, the Chorus of Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, and the Choir of Montclair Presbyterian Church in Oakland, and sang with the Philharmonia Chorale and Volti. Raised in New York, he studied at the Juilliard School, Yale University, and the University of Cambridge, and received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He has edited and adapted several scores by Ralph Vaughan Williams for publication, and in 2016 published the book Tonic to the Nation: Making English Music in the Festival of Britain. He is a member of the board of Choral Arts New England.
Opera coach and conductor Alejandro Roca’s (Artistic Director, Young Artist Program) recent engagements include productions of The Marriage of Figaro, The Barber of Seville, Gianni Schicchi, Master Peter’s Puppet Show, and debuts with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cláudio Santoro National Theater Orchestra in Brazil. Roca has collaborated with renowned conductors as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Gustavo Dudamel and Andrés Orozco-Estrada and has appeared in recital around the world and recorded music by several Latin American composers. Roca serves as Lecturer in Music/Opera Coach at the Yale School of Music. He previously served as Director of the Opera Workshop at Central University (Bogota), at Scuola Italia’s summer program for opera singers (Italy), as a conductor and pianist at the Opera of Colombia, and his repertoire includes more than 70 fully prepared operas. Roca earned his master in orchestral conducting from the National University of Colombia and his bachelor in piano performance from the Antonio Maria Valencia Conservatory. He also pursued postgraduate studies at Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona.
Kate Tilton (Properties) has enjoyed fabricating, finding and finagling props for many shows from The Pearl Fishers through Fidelio with OCM, Middlebury Community Players, and Middlebury Actor Company. She had her directorial debut with MCP’s Black Comedy. Kate is fond of learning about opera while “propping up the show” from behind scenes.
Board of Directors
-
![A portrait of Michele Brown]()
Michele Brown, Treasurer
Michele worked for 20 years as an underwater acoustician and for 24 years as an owner/innkeeper of four inns. During her next 20 years she will focus on working for her church and for OCM!
-
![A portrait of David Clark]()
David Clark
David credits the opera program of Indiana University for nurturing his long standing interest in opera. Who wouldn’t want to attend an opera every Saturday night of the school year (all of them sung in English)? After getting his graduate library degree at Indiana, David settled in Bel Air, MD, home of Harford Opera Theater where he went from stage hand to chorus member in The Flying Dutchman his first summer. David was delighted to be asked to narrate OCM’s first production, Carmen, in 2004 and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the company ever since.
-
![Richard Isenberg]()
Richard Isenberg
Rich has been an educator for over 45 years. He, and all the members of his family, have been active in local theater and music groups for years.
-
![Headshot of Elizabeth Karnes Keefe]()
Elizabeth Karnes Keefe, Secretary
Beth recently retired as a dean at the Middlebury Language Schools. Raised in Los Angeles, her mother sang, played piano, and tuned into the MET Saturday opera broadcasts. Before moving to Vermont, she was research associate to Bill Moyers at PBS and CBS News New York. Later, living in Brandon, she spearheaded the restoration of a church steeple that was toppled in a hurricane in 1950. She lives in Cornwall with her husband Tom, a preservation architect.
-
![]()
Chip Malcolm, President
Williams College BA, University of Virginia MD, University of Rochester surgery, University of Vermont
Ob-Gyn residency
Practiced Ob-0gyn at Porter Hospital Middlebury VT 1975-2014
Present and Long-term member of UD#3 and Addison Central School District Boards
Three grown children and families all live in Vermont
-
![]()
Richard Marshak, Vice President
Richard, a lifelong opera fan, has lived in Cornwall since 2016. He received both his BA and VMD from the University of Pennsylvania and practiced as an equine veterinarian for almost 10 years. After receiving his MBA from the University of Chicago, Richard began a new career in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry including almost 15 years at AbbVie and now going on10 years in the biotech space where he was co-founder of a company focused on serious kidney disease and now focuses on developing breakthrough cancer therapies. Living in Addison County brings an impressive array of cultural opportunities and one of the most remarkable of these is Opera Company of Middlebury. OCM delivers amazing performances, production after production, and Richard is committed to helping OCM thrive and grow for the next 20 years.
-
![Portrait of Gail Miller]()
Gail E. Miller
Gail grew up in Middlebury and has worked as a paralegal for her husband, Bill, at Langrock Sperry & Wool since high school. When not at the office, you’ll usually find Gail with her Friesian and Morgan horses. She also enjoys gardening, reading and numerous crafts. While fairly new to opera, Gail puts her organizational skills to good use as a member of the OCM Board.
-
![]()
Arlinda Wickland
Arlinda’s interest in opera began some years ago when accompanying a group of Middlebury College students to a production of La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera. Since then, she and her husband, Tim, have enjoyed subscriptions to the Met, which, along with annual jaunts to the Stratford and Shaw theatre festivals in Canada, nourish their love of the arts. She is also involved in fundraising efforts supporting Porter Medical Center, and remains dedicated to the life and work of the Weybridge Church. She is excited to be part of the success and future promise of OCM. Arlinda and Tim have been residents of Weybridge for many years, where they raised two talented sons.
